Well, as I think about how it's getting down to the wire now with being abroad, I get excited, nostalgic, anxious, nervous, sad, happy...everything...oh, and cynical. Really cynical. I think, well, I know, that I'm actually really ready to be home again, and the closer it gets to reality, the more I find myself critiquing everything here...well, mainly in my house. Today was the worst. ok, first of all, my room is kind of secluded from the rest of the 'house', the tv is always always always on and blasting for my almost deaf senora, and one of my host sister smokes so i shut my door leaving a crack open cuz i hate smoke. well, this means that basically, no one tells me when we're eating. This wouldn't be a problem if a)I wasn't in the house that day, b)I didn't eat, c)I didn't care, or d)there was a set meal time. BUT, there is no set meal time (ok, that makes sense, but still) and I do care, most of the time I'm starving by meal time due to lack of a decent breakfast or any other nutrients to last me the 7 hrs between my meals...ok ok i know i can buy food. and i do. BUT on sundays when the world shuts down, you have a problem. I've gotten in the habit of going out to the room and just waiting, but usually that's a lost cause because who knows WHAT my senora does in the kitchen... (tonight, she went in to start cooking dinner at 8:30, and it started smelling good by 9 so i was like, oh good, food soon. yah right. we were served at 10. want to know what it was? SPAGHETTI. um, it takes 10 minutes to boil water and make that. whhhat?) Anyway, so today I was in my room reading (soooo much reading...more later) and my senora comes in and was like, "you don't want lunch?" and i was just ugh. so i said, Well know one tells me, I can't hear cuz your tv, blah blah...i mean, i said it respectfully, but i think she maybe picked up on it? bad move on my part? oh well. anyway, I went out to the table and they were halfway done with lunch. thanks. SEE THIS? this is me being cynical. about every single detail. and it's not that bad. like, not being told about lunch and having to wait an hr and a half for spaghetti isn't that bad, i think it's just time. maybe?
And despite all my complaining up there, believe it or not but I AM having a good time and enjoying myself! I know I'm going to miss this city; just walking around the streets, doing some major people-watching and observing, seeing the motos take control of the road and not following any traffic signals or rules, taking detours due to all the 'edificios en obras,' or buildings under construction along the streets, going out for free tapas!, pretending i'm spanish (mostly unsuccessfully...), seeing the police just stopped along the side of the road in a plaza on their motos chattin' and watching construction along with the rest of the world (i guess you could compare that to the police-parked-along-the-side-of-the-road-eating-donuts theory in the States), sitting in plazas and the park, seeing some crazy european fashion, etc. It's been a good semester. Yah, it took me a bit more time to get acclimated here than in Chile, but it all turned out to be okay. I mean, my hygiene has significantly worsened (at least the bathing part), my work ethic has turned to mierda, and I'm super out of shape, but hey, I'm still alive and kickin'.
today is sunday. last time I showered was wednesday night. and I've run several times during that time. yummmmm.
Finally going to Morocco on Thursday and mannn am I stoked. Don't worry, I'll fill y'all in!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Prague
I loved Prague!!! It's a really beautiful and well-kept city of orange roofs and old monuments and bridges and really nice people...and good food. Well ok not going to lie, we didn't really branch out too much with the food there because it's really touristy and therefore the prices are pretty high for poor college students, but we still had some good sausage, good Pilsner beer (famous Czech beer), and bagels and cream cheese. haha.
We went to the old castle grounds, which is basically a small town inside the city, with a cathedral, a museum, lots of other buildings that i don't even know what purpose they serve, restaurants, etc. We saw the famous changing of the guards while fighting to see over the smelly girl in front of us who decided to stand up in front of everyone behind her...but still cool. We also went to the famous Charles Bridge I dont know how many times. It's basically just a bridge for pedestrians filled with people selling jewelry, art of all sorts, people playing music, and tons of places to get your caricature done. haha, on our last time there, we were about to walk off the bridge when we saw this guy, probably about my age or a little older, in a penguin costume, playing a recorder TERRIBLY, just having the time of his life, trying to seduce all the people that walked by to give him some money. Meanwhile, a big group of his friends were just standing there cracking up the whole time.
Penguin guy actually made out pretty well...got some good tips. Next he pulled out a small little tambourine, but he wasnt nearly as successful. Afterwards, he decided to go and get a caricature with his earnings, while his friends handed out cans of Pilsner to the bystanders. holy cow it was hilarious.
Anyway, it was basically lots of walking around, seeing things and just chillin'. good weekend. oh also, someone in our hostel told us that he had heard that Budapest is a 'worse' version of Vienna, and Vienna is a 'worse' version of Prague. And well, I've only been to two of them, but yes, Prague definitely beats Budapest!
Ok, Granada has this week-long Feria de libros (book market?) just out in one of the big plazas, where there are loads and loads of book stands all lined up full of books and some authors there to sign books, so I'm off to go check it out! hasta luego
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
observations...
Ok, here’s the deal. Ever since the beginning of my stay in espana, my roommate Lara and I have been noticing little by little, and picking up on the lifestyle, attitudes, behavior of the ‘youth’ here. We’ve talked about it A LOT (behind their backs, of course), and obviously compared it to our lives back home, not with the intention of claiming one to be superior to the other, just simply comparing and contrasting and trying with all our might to understand it all. And well, I haven’t written anything about it yet because I didn’t want it to seem like I was complaining or anything—because I think that’s how I come across in the blog a lot, and I didn’t want to perpetuate that idea—but now, I’ve waited long enough and I just have to get it out of my system. AND I also think something like this is important to realize and remember later on, especially because it constitutes a pretty big portion of my life here. AND, a professor of Lara has confirmed our thoughts/ideas of the generalized – which is important to keep in mind – Spanish youth with studies, which puts me a little bit more at ease as I just let it all out.
Ok first of all, my senora’s two daughters are 19 and 21 years old. They don’t go to school. Each took courses, the 19 year old one just started last week working at a daycare in the mornings, and the 21 yr old one got her first job in like march or something, worked 1 week and decided she didn’t like her boss so she quit the following week, and has remained jobless ever since. I have no idea what she does.
As far as what I’ve seen/heard/experienced in my house, there is a significant lack of respect for the older generation(s), and according to a professor, this has been a characteristic of this generation, and it continues to grow in impact (? don’t know how to word it…) with the younger generations—meaning, it’s just expanding and getting worse. True, true, you could say, well, everyone yells at and fights with and disobeys their mom, BUT they just pay no respect whatsoever to the person who makes their every meal, who wakes them up for work, who does their laundry, who makes their bed, who cleans their room, etc. instead, it’s: “MAMA, TRAE EL AGUA. NO QUIERO LEVANTARME,” or simply ignoring her. It wouldn’t call our attention so much if the people we saw doing this and acting in this way were like 10 yrs old maybe, but no, this is the normal behavior of a 21-year old. Whhhhhhat? So of course, this leads me to compare it to Chile, and therefore, the Hispanic culture, and therefore maturity: living at home till you get married, not working because “there is no reason to, since you have your parents to support you,” having no responsibility, etc. Basically, the maturity level is just at a completely different level. Which is fine. It’s just different, and clearly requires an adjustment period. I’ve been with it now going on 8 months, and I’m still baffled by what I hear and see. However, it’s also kinda the ‘guilt’ of the older generation, too; they just maintain the standards, without changing their comportment, even if they have a problem with the ‘youth system.’ I don’t get it.
Lara and I have noticed that in our house, it just seems like a constant attack or demand of their mom, and even though she clearly gets mad and frustrated and seems to feel powerless, she still does everything the same, gives no punishment, and lets them keep living their life how they want, without daring being interrupted by their mother, who single-handedly raised them herself. Wow, long sentence. Anyway, we’ve wanted to ask our senora about their behavior, well, in a very roundabout way, especially when she’s mad, so she can identify with what we’re referring to, but we’ve wimped out. It’s tough, because I think and believe it would most likely come across to her as an ‘attack’ on her daughters, or how she raised them, seeing as how she says she’s American (she lived there for a couple of years…doesn’t speak a lick of English…) and doesn’t agree with a lot (the majority) of things that go on in the States, how the way of life doesn’t fit her, etc.
So anyway, it’s really tough sometimes, I think mainly because a lot of it occurs at meal time, when we’re seated at the table and can first-handedly see and hear what’s going on. Several times we have just been so awestruck at the table that we have nothing to say, NOTHING, and end up sitting there, speechless, staring at each other, wanting so badly to speak up and tell them to act their age, but just leaving the table in silence instead.
At the same time, I think our household has a really different environment because a)there is no father figure, b)these girls have had at least one girl—most likely 2 girls—living in their house EVERY semester for the past 11 years. Yes, 11 years. So I can only imagine that this would have something to do with their behavior, though I’d hardly say that’s a valid reason to act the way they do, and c) I haven’t come up with a ‘c’ yet. haha Ideas?!
Oh one more thing regarding Spanish youth. They are surprisingly (generally-speaking, of course) apathetic. In many regards. But on the other hand, lara and I realized that at home we are pretty much just surrounded by people at school who are go-getters, have goals, want to change the world, ya know, that type of people. but here, well, we’re not surrounded by that type of Spanish people, so it’s just a different atmosphere, and it really catches us off-guard. They really give the impression that they have no power whatsoever (mainly girls) to change anything, help anything, etc. for example, girls and sports: it’s still at a point here in spain where girls don’t really have sports teams, don’t play sports, etc., because that’s just not ‘right.’ Well, I’ve talked to several girls about this who would like to play sports, but they say that since there are no established teams or programs for them they have no opportunity to do anything. And I was like, wellllllll why don’t you do something about that???? Like, get with your firneds who want to do that with you and make something of it? And basically they’re just like, noooo, nothing would happen, we can’t change that, blah blah blah. GAG. It makes me think of that John Mayer song, “Waiting on the world to change.” Jajaj, which is funny because I really love that song, but I guess the message of it isn’t so great…anyway, it just ASTOUNDS ME.
Ok that’s it for now. Probably doesn’t seem like much, oh but it is. It actually makes it really hard for me to relate with them on a lot of levels. Well, aside from the fact that they don’t really talk to me, it just makes me really mad when they yell incessantly at her. And they do it in front of their friends and boyfriends, and they just act as if it’s completely normal. I’m like, um, no. at least act fake in front of your friends so they don’t have to see how bad you get along with your mom. Hahah But no. and the friends/bf’s just seem normal with it, even sometimes join the conversation. ??????? Man, if I went to a friend’s house and he/she started screaming at his/her mom or dad, I’d quietly leave the room, or AT LEAST stare at the ground and pretend to be invisible…right? Wowww.
OK now I’m really done for now.
Hugs.
Ok first of all, my senora’s two daughters are 19 and 21 years old. They don’t go to school. Each took courses, the 19 year old one just started last week working at a daycare in the mornings, and the 21 yr old one got her first job in like march or something, worked 1 week and decided she didn’t like her boss so she quit the following week, and has remained jobless ever since. I have no idea what she does.
As far as what I’ve seen/heard/experienced in my house, there is a significant lack of respect for the older generation(s), and according to a professor, this has been a characteristic of this generation, and it continues to grow in impact (? don’t know how to word it…) with the younger generations—meaning, it’s just expanding and getting worse. True, true, you could say, well, everyone yells at and fights with and disobeys their mom, BUT they just pay no respect whatsoever to the person who makes their every meal, who wakes them up for work, who does their laundry, who makes their bed, who cleans their room, etc. instead, it’s: “MAMA, TRAE EL AGUA. NO QUIERO LEVANTARME,” or simply ignoring her. It wouldn’t call our attention so much if the people we saw doing this and acting in this way were like 10 yrs old maybe, but no, this is the normal behavior of a 21-year old. Whhhhhhat? So of course, this leads me to compare it to Chile, and therefore, the Hispanic culture, and therefore maturity: living at home till you get married, not working because “there is no reason to, since you have your parents to support you,” having no responsibility, etc. Basically, the maturity level is just at a completely different level. Which is fine. It’s just different, and clearly requires an adjustment period. I’ve been with it now going on 8 months, and I’m still baffled by what I hear and see. However, it’s also kinda the ‘guilt’ of the older generation, too; they just maintain the standards, without changing their comportment, even if they have a problem with the ‘youth system.’ I don’t get it.
Lara and I have noticed that in our house, it just seems like a constant attack or demand of their mom, and even though she clearly gets mad and frustrated and seems to feel powerless, she still does everything the same, gives no punishment, and lets them keep living their life how they want, without daring being interrupted by their mother, who single-handedly raised them herself. Wow, long sentence. Anyway, we’ve wanted to ask our senora about their behavior, well, in a very roundabout way, especially when she’s mad, so she can identify with what we’re referring to, but we’ve wimped out. It’s tough, because I think and believe it would most likely come across to her as an ‘attack’ on her daughters, or how she raised them, seeing as how she says she’s American (she lived there for a couple of years…doesn’t speak a lick of English…) and doesn’t agree with a lot (the majority) of things that go on in the States, how the way of life doesn’t fit her, etc.
So anyway, it’s really tough sometimes, I think mainly because a lot of it occurs at meal time, when we’re seated at the table and can first-handedly see and hear what’s going on. Several times we have just been so awestruck at the table that we have nothing to say, NOTHING, and end up sitting there, speechless, staring at each other, wanting so badly to speak up and tell them to act their age, but just leaving the table in silence instead.
At the same time, I think our household has a really different environment because a)there is no father figure, b)these girls have had at least one girl—most likely 2 girls—living in their house EVERY semester for the past 11 years. Yes, 11 years. So I can only imagine that this would have something to do with their behavior, though I’d hardly say that’s a valid reason to act the way they do, and c) I haven’t come up with a ‘c’ yet. haha Ideas?!
Oh one more thing regarding Spanish youth. They are surprisingly (generally-speaking, of course) apathetic. In many regards. But on the other hand, lara and I realized that at home we are pretty much just surrounded by people at school who are go-getters, have goals, want to change the world, ya know, that type of people. but here, well, we’re not surrounded by that type of Spanish people, so it’s just a different atmosphere, and it really catches us off-guard. They really give the impression that they have no power whatsoever (mainly girls) to change anything, help anything, etc. for example, girls and sports: it’s still at a point here in spain where girls don’t really have sports teams, don’t play sports, etc., because that’s just not ‘right.’ Well, I’ve talked to several girls about this who would like to play sports, but they say that since there are no established teams or programs for them they have no opportunity to do anything. And I was like, wellllllll why don’t you do something about that???? Like, get with your firneds who want to do that with you and make something of it? And basically they’re just like, noooo, nothing would happen, we can’t change that, blah blah blah. GAG. It makes me think of that John Mayer song, “Waiting on the world to change.” Jajaj, which is funny because I really love that song, but I guess the message of it isn’t so great…anyway, it just ASTOUNDS ME.
Ok that’s it for now. Probably doesn’t seem like much, oh but it is. It actually makes it really hard for me to relate with them on a lot of levels. Well, aside from the fact that they don’t really talk to me, it just makes me really mad when they yell incessantly at her. And they do it in front of their friends and boyfriends, and they just act as if it’s completely normal. I’m like, um, no. at least act fake in front of your friends so they don’t have to see how bad you get along with your mom. Hahah But no. and the friends/bf’s just seem normal with it, even sometimes join the conversation. ??????? Man, if I went to a friend’s house and he/she started screaming at his/her mom or dad, I’d quietly leave the room, or AT LEAST stare at the ground and pretend to be invisible…right? Wowww.
OK now I’m really done for now.
Hugs.
Monday, April 7, 2008
note to self:
...don´t sit in the front row of a flamenco performance unless you would like to be pulled up on stage to dance in front of everyone. yes, this happened. At least I got myself looking presentable beforehand and had on a nice skirt, so I could pull it up to the side just like the lovely dancer who got me up on stage pulled her dress up. Well, that was fun. I went to a flamenco performance at my school; flamenco, or the style of flamenco that they were dancing, wasn´t really what I expected it´d be: they had moves of slapping their legs and arms and clapping their hands and weird stomping...but it was cool...
This past weekend I went with my group to the Alpujarras--mountains in the Sierra Nevada. On the way there, which is essentially driving around switchbacks on the side of the mountains, I was convinced a big 18-wheeler coming around the bend would end it for us, and though we did come close a couple of times--one time involving everyone waking up from the sudden squeal of truck horns and coming inches away from hitting us, we survived. When we got there, we went for a short hike through a few towns--all super cute with white houses, and all close together--and then the second day we had a 3 hr hike through the mountains with a guide. It felt so good to be out in nature again! And even if my butt hurts really bad right now after climbing up those hills and then nearly falling down them, I´m so glad we got to do that!
Granada is absolutely full of tourists now. My favorite one so far has been the guy that is standing next to a statue in a plaza with crossed arms and a huge smile on his face, just watching everyone. But the best part was his clothes: overalls, a sleeveless shirt, a baseball cap, and chacos. wow. Way to represent.
Not much else going on lately. Been walking around on my own lately. I´ve realized Spaniards, or anyone for that matter, talks to me more when I´m alone and not with a group of other americans. The other day I went in search of a plaza, though I went in the completely wrong way, but ended up walking up super steep hills and found myself on top of the city overlooking it all. I´d forgotten it´s such a pretty city.
Off to Prague on Thursday for a long weekend with a couple of friends. Yay Czech people and beer and sausage!
This past weekend I went with my group to the Alpujarras--mountains in the Sierra Nevada. On the way there, which is essentially driving around switchbacks on the side of the mountains, I was convinced a big 18-wheeler coming around the bend would end it for us, and though we did come close a couple of times--one time involving everyone waking up from the sudden squeal of truck horns and coming inches away from hitting us, we survived. When we got there, we went for a short hike through a few towns--all super cute with white houses, and all close together--and then the second day we had a 3 hr hike through the mountains with a guide. It felt so good to be out in nature again! And even if my butt hurts really bad right now after climbing up those hills and then nearly falling down them, I´m so glad we got to do that!
Granada is absolutely full of tourists now. My favorite one so far has been the guy that is standing next to a statue in a plaza with crossed arms and a huge smile on his face, just watching everyone. But the best part was his clothes: overalls, a sleeveless shirt, a baseball cap, and chacos. wow. Way to represent.
Not much else going on lately. Been walking around on my own lately. I´ve realized Spaniards, or anyone for that matter, talks to me more when I´m alone and not with a group of other americans. The other day I went in search of a plaza, though I went in the completely wrong way, but ended up walking up super steep hills and found myself on top of the city overlooking it all. I´d forgotten it´s such a pretty city.
Off to Prague on Thursday for a long weekend with a couple of friends. Yay Czech people and beer and sausage!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Budapest/Semana Santa
Well, it’s pronounced “BudapesHt” but whatever. Anyway, I went to Budapest with 2 friends for 5 days, and it was great! Budapest is one of those cities that are authentically OLD, not one of those cities whose city council decides to re-vamp all the buildings to be new but look old and vintage, but it’s really old, and it shows. It seemed like all of the buildings are super old, have Byzantine-style architecture and black or grey ashy-colored outsides. There are obviously also lots of old monuments and religious buildings—St. Stephen’s Cathedral: huge and gorgeous; the largest synagogue in Europe and 2nd largest in the world…don’t know the name, oops; and other religious stuff….anyway, I’ll stop rambling and maybe organize my thoughts.
First of all, Budapest was originally 2 different cities separated by the Danube river, Buda and Pest. At some point in history…? they united and now it’s a huge city, and major tourist attraction for it’s beauty and history; Buda is the more suburban part of the city, while Pest, where we stayed, is more metropolitan and has all the shopping, exhibits, monuments, restaurants, etc.
So to begin, I’d say the whole language barrier was by far the hardest thing to get a hold of, or rather to accept. I remember when we first arrived and made it to the metro station to get to our hostel, we were standing in the middle of it all, literally turning in circles because we had absolutely no idea where to go, how to get to wherever we were going, nor obviously how to read all the signs. True, lots of people speak English, or at least a little bit, but it was all hustle and bustle so we just felt lost and helpless. Luckily we made it on a metro after figuring out the stupid ticket system, and a nice guy heard us speaking English on the metro trying to figure out where to get off, and he spoke fluent English and was really helpful, getting off with us, walking us to our hostel, and marking on my map cool things to see and do. Great first impression! But anyway, that feeling of not being able to communicate or understand what people are saying to you, or how to ask a question, or anything, is a really terrible and hopeless feeling. It was one that I know we all felt and experienced many more times throughout our time there—like me trying to order my friend a pizza on the phone, or my friend being yelled at in Hungarian in a museum, we think for carrying her backpack but we’re not sure, or a lady in another place telling us to do something that we clearly didn’t understand, etc.—it’s just so overwhelming. I honestly cannot remember the last time I felt that helpless and useless. They talk to you, and you really have nothing to say in return, other than give a blank stare and raise your eyebrows. Like when I was trying to order the pizza, we were in the hostel and there were several people sitting around listening, digging through guidebooks for expressions I could use, laughing hysterically, etc., and it was all funny and all, since I called twice hoping for an English speaker (we’d stopped there before and the guy knew English and Spanish, so we just figured he’d answer….HAH), but I had to hang up after the first time because my saying “pizza” “angolul?” for ‘english?’ was getting me nowhere, and then the second time I just remember thinking, this is ridiculous. It’s funny and I’m cracking up, but it was maybe the most stressful/overwhelming 30 seconds of my life…if had to live like this, I honestly don’t know how I’d survive. I mean, of course I’d try to learn the language, but mannnnnnnnnn. Just imagine immigrating to another country in search of a better life or something but not knowing the language: what the hell do you do? I guess in hindsight it’d be stupid to move to a country where you don’t speak the language, but it happens, so the problem exists…ahh. In the end the pizza fiasco failed, and my friend went hungry. Imagine that, hungry in Hungary…HAHHHHHH.
Aside from the language barrier, we did a lot of cool things. Budapest, or maybe all of Hungary, is known for their natural thermal waters (is that English?—aguas termales—)so we went to one of those, and left smelling of sulfur, but feeling refreshed and relaxed. We went to the huge synagogue that I mentioned before—apparently designed by a Catholic, so the architecture inside is pretty distinct for a synagogue, but still pretty—we went to a couple museums on the history of Hungary and also on the Soviet/Communist occupation and Hungary’s role in WW2, went to the citadel, saw some great views of the huge city, walked a ton, ate even more, and made a lot of new friends at our hostel. We stayed at this hostel called Bubble Budapest, so if you ever go, stay there! There were people from England, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Canada, US, etc. We all went out together a lot, spent maybe too much time together, but had a great time!
Oh, and the weather in Budapest might be even weirder than Texas. On our last full day there, we were out and about seeing the last things we could, and it was sort of cloudy, sort of blue skies, normal. Well, all of a sudden it starts to SNOW. Not rain, but snow, legit snow. So that lasts for just a bit, like 5ish minutes and then it starts raining, and then like 20 minutes later, we have clear blue skies and temperatures like 10 degrees warmer. Yah, weird. So then like an hour or two later, we’re walking across this huge bridge and what do ya know? It starts snowing AGAIN. Whattttt? Anyway, I just thought it was crazzzy.
Oh, and then on a completely unrelated note, on our flight back we stopped in Munich, and omg I saw the most german looking guy ever. Well actually, several of them; it was insane!!! I just remember looking at him and immediately thinking, that guy is GERMAN, sooooo german!! And the german people were really nice, so I think I’d like to go back there sometime, spend some quality time in the country eating sausages and beer and feeling like I can actually fit in with the blond-haired people. but I wonder…will I be able to order any food?!?!? I mean, I don’t speak german. Speaken-zie deutsch? NOPE.
To say the least, traveling is nice and rewarding and eye-opening, but it’s always nice to go back ‘home’ and speak the language and be able to communicate.
After I came back from Budapest, I spent the rest of my time here in Granada, experiencing the true Andalucian Semana Santa. Basically there are tons of processions with old and young people alike, lots of music, standing in the cold, carrying the heavy statues and 'palios' or those big things that have the Virgen Mary, etc. sitting on top and are intricately decorated, etc. Here, Easter is all about the few days before, especially the processions and everything else that goes on on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and then on Sunday. I went to a couple processions Thursday night, and one of them, 'la procesion de silencio' is apparently one of the most famous and special. It starts processing at midnight, and as it reaches different parts of the city, all of the lights are shut off in that part, and everyone is supposed to be silent, obviously, and the people in the procession are all wearing black and carrying candles, and then there's the big Jesus on the cross. It was nice, honestly not all that it was hyped up to be, but maybe because the idiot beside me decided that the SILENT part of the procession was the perfect time to start eating his stupid sunflower seeds and drinking from his coke wrapped in a plastic bag and talking to his girlfriend. moron.
But it was all nice; really different. No easter egg hunt this year, just the normal crackers and tea and unripe pear for breakfast. :)
First of all, Budapest was originally 2 different cities separated by the Danube river, Buda and Pest. At some point in history…? they united and now it’s a huge city, and major tourist attraction for it’s beauty and history; Buda is the more suburban part of the city, while Pest, where we stayed, is more metropolitan and has all the shopping, exhibits, monuments, restaurants, etc.
So to begin, I’d say the whole language barrier was by far the hardest thing to get a hold of, or rather to accept. I remember when we first arrived and made it to the metro station to get to our hostel, we were standing in the middle of it all, literally turning in circles because we had absolutely no idea where to go, how to get to wherever we were going, nor obviously how to read all the signs. True, lots of people speak English, or at least a little bit, but it was all hustle and bustle so we just felt lost and helpless. Luckily we made it on a metro after figuring out the stupid ticket system, and a nice guy heard us speaking English on the metro trying to figure out where to get off, and he spoke fluent English and was really helpful, getting off with us, walking us to our hostel, and marking on my map cool things to see and do. Great first impression! But anyway, that feeling of not being able to communicate or understand what people are saying to you, or how to ask a question, or anything, is a really terrible and hopeless feeling. It was one that I know we all felt and experienced many more times throughout our time there—like me trying to order my friend a pizza on the phone, or my friend being yelled at in Hungarian in a museum, we think for carrying her backpack but we’re not sure, or a lady in another place telling us to do something that we clearly didn’t understand, etc.—it’s just so overwhelming. I honestly cannot remember the last time I felt that helpless and useless. They talk to you, and you really have nothing to say in return, other than give a blank stare and raise your eyebrows. Like when I was trying to order the pizza, we were in the hostel and there were several people sitting around listening, digging through guidebooks for expressions I could use, laughing hysterically, etc., and it was all funny and all, since I called twice hoping for an English speaker (we’d stopped there before and the guy knew English and Spanish, so we just figured he’d answer….HAH), but I had to hang up after the first time because my saying “pizza” “angolul?” for ‘english?’ was getting me nowhere, and then the second time I just remember thinking, this is ridiculous. It’s funny and I’m cracking up, but it was maybe the most stressful/overwhelming 30 seconds of my life…if had to live like this, I honestly don’t know how I’d survive. I mean, of course I’d try to learn the language, but mannnnnnnnnn. Just imagine immigrating to another country in search of a better life or something but not knowing the language: what the hell do you do? I guess in hindsight it’d be stupid to move to a country where you don’t speak the language, but it happens, so the problem exists…ahh. In the end the pizza fiasco failed, and my friend went hungry. Imagine that, hungry in Hungary…HAHHHHHH.
Aside from the language barrier, we did a lot of cool things. Budapest, or maybe all of Hungary, is known for their natural thermal waters (is that English?—aguas termales—)so we went to one of those, and left smelling of sulfur, but feeling refreshed and relaxed. We went to the huge synagogue that I mentioned before—apparently designed by a Catholic, so the architecture inside is pretty distinct for a synagogue, but still pretty—we went to a couple museums on the history of Hungary and also on the Soviet/Communist occupation and Hungary’s role in WW2, went to the citadel, saw some great views of the huge city, walked a ton, ate even more, and made a lot of new friends at our hostel. We stayed at this hostel called Bubble Budapest, so if you ever go, stay there! There were people from England, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Canada, US, etc. We all went out together a lot, spent maybe too much time together, but had a great time!
Oh, and the weather in Budapest might be even weirder than Texas. On our last full day there, we were out and about seeing the last things we could, and it was sort of cloudy, sort of blue skies, normal. Well, all of a sudden it starts to SNOW. Not rain, but snow, legit snow. So that lasts for just a bit, like 5ish minutes and then it starts raining, and then like 20 minutes later, we have clear blue skies and temperatures like 10 degrees warmer. Yah, weird. So then like an hour or two later, we’re walking across this huge bridge and what do ya know? It starts snowing AGAIN. Whattttt? Anyway, I just thought it was crazzzy.
Oh, and then on a completely unrelated note, on our flight back we stopped in Munich, and omg I saw the most german looking guy ever. Well actually, several of them; it was insane!!! I just remember looking at him and immediately thinking, that guy is GERMAN, sooooo german!! And the german people were really nice, so I think I’d like to go back there sometime, spend some quality time in the country eating sausages and beer and feeling like I can actually fit in with the blond-haired people. but I wonder…will I be able to order any food?!?!? I mean, I don’t speak german. Speaken-zie deutsch? NOPE.
To say the least, traveling is nice and rewarding and eye-opening, but it’s always nice to go back ‘home’ and speak the language and be able to communicate.
After I came back from Budapest, I spent the rest of my time here in Granada, experiencing the true Andalucian Semana Santa. Basically there are tons of processions with old and young people alike, lots of music, standing in the cold, carrying the heavy statues and 'palios' or those big things that have the Virgen Mary, etc. sitting on top and are intricately decorated, etc. Here, Easter is all about the few days before, especially the processions and everything else that goes on on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and then on Sunday. I went to a couple processions Thursday night, and one of them, 'la procesion de silencio' is apparently one of the most famous and special. It starts processing at midnight, and as it reaches different parts of the city, all of the lights are shut off in that part, and everyone is supposed to be silent, obviously, and the people in the procession are all wearing black and carrying candles, and then there's the big Jesus on the cross. It was nice, honestly not all that it was hyped up to be, but maybe because the idiot beside me decided that the SILENT part of the procession was the perfect time to start eating his stupid sunflower seeds and drinking from his coke wrapped in a plastic bag and talking to his girlfriend. moron.
But it was all nice; really different. No easter egg hunt this year, just the normal crackers and tea and unripe pear for breakfast. :)
the little old lady
So since the beginning of the semester I’ve had a lot of free time between and after classes, and I was just going crazy and didn’t know what to do with it all. Well, it’s gotten better, I have a pretty normal routine now, but I was like, I might as well do something worth doing at least during a portion of my time. Sooo I decided to try and volunteer somewhere, so basically I kill time with other people, AND I speak Spanish while doing it. Well get this. I first went to Red Cross and talked to the lady, and she was like, oh well, you’re only here till May so we don’t want you to start anything now. And I was like, fine, if you don’t want me to even play with kids that’s fine with me, someone else will have to want me. So I found this place online called Fundacion Albihar and the lady there was sooo nice and overwhelmingly welcoming to me, and was so glad that I had found the place online. The fundacion does several things, but the one that fit my timing and schedule the best was to be paired up with an old lady and just talk with her, listen, take a stroll, whatever. I mean, it’s not much (at all), but ok let’s face it, old ladies are adorable, especially when they speak Spanish and you have absolutely no idea what they’re saying but still they somehow adore you and think you're the most amazing person for listening, and it’s always interesting to meet new people and here their life stories, and mannnnnnn I’m telling you, little old ladies LOVE talking about their life and their families. So anyway, yesterday was my first day to go and meet her, her name is Socorro, she’s in her 80’s, has trouble walking, but is a mouthful, and super friendly. I went with the director lady so she could introduce us, etc. and they just ended up talking the whole time, but I’m going to start seeing her after Semana Santa, which is this upcoming week, and basically all I do is go once a week, or whatever we agree on, and just take her on a stroll, sit and talk and listen and just provide good company for her for a couple of hours. Not bad.
Oh and so she lives in this apartment building—like everyone here—but there was some serious bad planning, or a major lack of planning, put into the building because there is no elevator! Come on, people. If apartment buildings are the only form of living conditions here in the city, you just HAVE to expect that either, a)old people will live there and will need an elevator at some point, or b)that people will, like most Spaniards, make this the one home they’ll have, and thus they’ll GET old, and will eventually need an elevator if they ever want to breathe in the fresh air and not waste away on their couch day after day. Ah. I got really mad because that was one thing they were talking about for Socorro. Luckily she’s just on the first floor, and for the most part she can go down and come up on her own, but it’s really just not safe for her or anyone else in a similar situation. Urgh.
Anyway, I’m excited to listen to all her stories, and I just know I’ll get an earful of them, but it should be good for the both of us.
Oh and so she lives in this apartment building—like everyone here—but there was some serious bad planning, or a major lack of planning, put into the building because there is no elevator! Come on, people. If apartment buildings are the only form of living conditions here in the city, you just HAVE to expect that either, a)old people will live there and will need an elevator at some point, or b)that people will, like most Spaniards, make this the one home they’ll have, and thus they’ll GET old, and will eventually need an elevator if they ever want to breathe in the fresh air and not waste away on their couch day after day. Ah. I got really mad because that was one thing they were talking about for Socorro. Luckily she’s just on the first floor, and for the most part she can go down and come up on her own, but it’s really just not safe for her or anyone else in a similar situation. Urgh.
Anyway, I’m excited to listen to all her stories, and I just know I’ll get an earful of them, but it should be good for the both of us.
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